Texas-based Fluor Corp. announced July 15 that it won a contract from Gate Terminal BV—a joint venture of Royal Vopak and Gasunie—to design and build an LNG break-bulk terminal in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Under the deal, “Fluor will provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for the jetty, loading facilities, boil-off gas compressors, connection to the LNG terminal and other facilities,” according to the company.

“This project will help address northern Europe’s growing need for LNG as a transportation fuel,” said Taco de Haan, president of Fluor’s energy and chemicals business for Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The break-bulk terminal will split up large-scale LNG shipments into smaller quantities “to facilitate the distribution of LNG to be used as fuel for ships and heavy trucks,” according to Fluor.

According to Royal Vopak and Gasunie—the Gate Terminal partners—construction is scheduled to start this year and LNG refueling services would begin in the first half of 2016.

The new LNG terminal “will be expanded with an additional harbor basin to enable LNG distribution for small-scale use with a maximum capacity of 280 berthing slots per year,” according to the partners.

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell Plc has signed a contract to become an initial customer for the LNG fueling operation, according to the partners.

“As launching customer, Shell plays a key role in enabling the project, which creates the conditions for the use of LNG as a transportation fuel to take off in Northern Europe,” according to the partners.

“From Gate in Rotterdam, it will be possible for customers like Shell to supply LNG to bunker [refueling] stations in the Wadden area, Scandinavia, the Baltics, but also to stations along the Rhine, Main and Danube—thus providing a low emissions fuel alternative to transporters all over Europe.

“With its extended break-bulk facilities, Gate terminal will be at the basis of cleaner transport by road, inland waterways and coastal shipping throughout Northern Europe. The project is key to facilitate LNG storage and to secure LNG supply in Northwest European ports, such as Gothenburg.

“The maritime connection between Rotterdam and this area is regarded as a part of the EU ‘Motorways of the Sea’ concept and has therefore been selected for co-financing under the European Union’s TEN-T program,” according to the partners.

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